Fatwa No : 91590

The cat is pure but its urine is impure

Fatwa Date : Safar 28, 1427 / 28-3-2006

Question

During the prayer the cat comes and lies on the prayer mat when I perform the prayer. So, is my prayer valid?

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. We ask Allaah to exalt his mention as well as that of his family and all his companions.

The cat is pure. It is reported by Imaam Maalik, Imaam Ahmad, and other scholar that Abu Qataadah entered to Kabshah Bint Ka’b Ibn Maalik who is his daughter in-law, so she poured for him some water to perform ablution. A cat came to drink it. So he put the container forward to it and it drank. Kabshah, said: "He saw me looking to him in disarray.” Then he said: “Are you surprised, o daughter of my brother? I said: “Yes.” He said:“The Prophet said: "The cat is pure. It is one of the creatures which circumambulates around you.” So this narration is evident that the cat is pure. Since it is pure, if it lies on the prayer mat, it does not have any effect and even if the person touches it, it does not affect the validity of his prayer. However one should be cautious about its urine as it is impure according to the majority of the scholars.